Overview

This unit provides students with a critical understanding of terrorism and counter-terrorism policy and practices. It will explore the concepts and ideas surrounding terrorism and consider a variety of perspectives in order to make sense of the phenomena of terrorism and its implications for liberty, security and freedom.

Requisites

Prerequisites
POL30009 Critical Perspectives On Terrorism

Rule

50 credit points of level 2 units

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Teaching Period 1
Location
Online
Start and end dates
10-March-2025
08-June-2025
Last self-enrolment date
23-March-2025
Census date
04-April-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
02-May-2025
Results released date

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Explain the problems of defining and conceptualising terrorism
  • Hypothesise the implications of specific ways of thinking about terrorism for counterterrorism practices and policy
  • Critique the role of experts and academics in the discourse of terrorism
  • Evaluate the importance of the specificity of particular case studies in debates about terrorism - as a global threat and as a particular or unique form of violence

Teaching methods

Swinburne Online

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Live Online
Class		1.00 4 weeks 4
Online
Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning		12.17 12 weeks 146
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Major EssayIndividual 60% 1,2,3,4 
Minor EssayIndividual 30% 1,3 
PresentationIndividual 10% 1,2,4 

Content

  • Problems in defining and conceptualising terrorism
  • How knowledge of terrorism informs counter‐terrorism policy and practices
  • Terrorism in its many forms and questions of security and political violence
  • National, sub‐national and global implications of terrorism.
  • Case studies
  • Political and ethical dilemmas, with particular emphasis on the growth of terrorism as an 'industry'

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.